Race to the Bowl: the SEC bowl race
Every SEC team plays 12 regular season games, and six wins is the number that makes a team bowl eligible. This page tracks all 16 of them against that line: how many wins each has, how many are still needed, and who can no longer get there. Records are entered by hand each week from published standings.
Through week 5
No SEC team has reached 6 wins yet.
KentuckyKentuckyRecord 5-16 games left1 win still neededNeeds 1 of the last 6If every game left were a coin flip: 98% chance of a bowl
AlabamaAlabamaRecord 5-07 games left1 win still neededNeeds 1 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 99% chance of a bowl
ArkansasArkansasRecord 2-37 games left4 wins still neededNeeds 4 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 50% chance of a bowl
AuburnAuburnRecord 3-27 games left3 wins still neededNeeds 3 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 77% chance of a bowl
FloridaFloridaRecord 4-17 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 94% chance of a bowl
GeorgiaGeorgiaRecord 5-07 games left1 win still neededNeeds 1 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 99% chance of a bowl
LSULSURecord 4-26 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 6If every game left were a coin flip: 89% chance of a bowl
Mississippi StateMississippi StateRecord 4-17 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 94% chance of a bowl
MissouriMissouriRecord 4-17 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 94% chance of a bowl
OklahomaOklahomaRecord 2-28 games left4 wins still neededNeeds 4 of the last 8If every game left were a coin flip: 64% chance of a bowl
Ole MissOle MissRecord 3-18 games left3 wins still neededNeeds 3 of the last 8If every game left were a coin flip: 86% chance of a bowl
South CarolinaSouth CarolinaRecord 2-37 games left4 wins still neededNeeds 4 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 50% chance of a bowl
TennesseeTennesseeRecord 4-17 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 94% chance of a bowl
TexasTexasRecord 4-08 games left2 wins still neededNeeds 2 of the last 8If every game left were a coin flip: 96% chance of a bowl
Texas A&MTexas A&MRecord 3-27 games left3 wins still neededNeeds 3 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 77% chance of a bowl
VanderbiltVanderbiltRecord 3-27 games left3 wins still neededNeeds 3 of the last 7If every game left were a coin flip: 77% chance of a bowl
Each step is one win. The dashed line is 6 wins, where a team becomes bowl eligible, and the track runs the full 12 game regular season. Tap a lane, or hover it on a desktop, for that team's numbers.
The coin flip line is a simple what-if, not a prediction: it assumes every game left is an even toss, which no real schedule is.
Race to the Bowl board. The same records are in the standings table below.
| Team | Record | Wins to a bowl |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 5-0 | 1 win to go |
| Georgia | 5-0 | 1 win to go |
| Kentucky | 5-1 | 1 win to go |
| Texas | 4-0 | 2 wins to go |
| Florida | 4-1 | 2 wins to go |
| Mississippi State | 4-1 | 2 wins to go |
| Missouri | 4-1 | 2 wins to go |
| Tennessee | 4-1 | 2 wins to go |
| LSU | 4-2 | 2 wins to go |
| Ole Miss | 3-1 | 3 wins to go |
| Auburn | 3-2 | 3 wins to go |
| Texas A&M | 3-2 | 3 wins to go |
| Vanderbilt | 3-2 | 3 wins to go |
| Oklahoma | 2-2 | 4 wins to go |
| Arkansas | 2-3 | 4 wins to go |
| South Carolina | 2-3 | 4 wins to go |
How bowl eligibility works
A team becomes bowl eligible by winning 6 of its 12 regular season games. Eligibility is not the same as an invitation: it makes a team available to be selected, and the bowls do the selecting once the regular season ends. Because six wins out of twelve games leaves no room to spare, a 7th loss ends the chase arithmetically, which is why teams at that mark are listed here as eliminated rather than still climbing.